This place has great upsides and some annoying downsides. For instance; the recycling part up front is fantastic...as long as the material you bring is one they accept you can bring as much as you want and be rid of it without needing to have Recology come pick it up. The staff out there are friendly too! The back end, where the trash goes, is where I draw issue. I may have a small amount of material that wouldn't go in a trash bag (de-constructed office chair, and a cat tree, let's say) so maybe 10-15 lbs. Well, the lowest price to get rid of those items is $65.00, which is wild to me...but there's literally no other way to get rid of stuff without breaking the law (dumping). So, consider smaller item dumps! read more

I've gone here for 20 years to properly dispose of household debris. Every encounter I have had with an employee has been positive. SEC must do a great job selecting and training their employees to be courteous and helpful. Today, I was unfortunately hit by a delivery truck in the entrance. The staff were incredibly helpful and proactive. I especially appreciated the offer to call the supervisor on shift. Jennifer handled the stressful situation like a pro and the offer to send me the CCT footage was greatly appreciated. Today's crew turned what was a bad situation into a manageable one. I'm thankful to have such amazing services in San Mateo County. read more

I am so happy to have such a great recycling center in our community. I've been able to recycle oversized cardboard boxes, ewaste like broken tvs and old laptops, batteries, and vacuums. They are right off 101 and personal recycling has ample parking and attendants to help direct you where to place your items. Everything I've given has been free so far and their website has a lot of great resources on items accepted and potential cost. I'm happy to have reduced contributions to landfills!!! read more

Shoreway Environmental Center is a great service to the community. It's easy to enter and exit anytime without need for an appointment. Really makes it convenient to clean out your place of things that need to recycled or disposed of properly. They take flourescent bulbs, limited quantities of old paint cans (as long as theres a label), cardboard, paper, glass, e-waste, batteries, pharmaceuticals, metal, etc. They dont take hard plastic, chemicals, or fabric. The staff are always friendly too, we are blessed to have this center in the community. read more

Wow what a nice service this place offers. Did you just move and buy a ton of stuff of Amazon and now are drowning in large cardboard boxes that would take 3 weeks to get rid of if you threw it away in your recycling bin? Take your stuff here. We drove in and out and were able to get rid of an entire suv full of cardboard in less than 5 minutes. Super easy and accessible. Love that this service is available. read more

It's great to have this available for disposing items I can't place in the regular garbage. I never knew what to do with the lightbulbs and batteries and expired medications and now I have a safe place to dispose them. I only wish they didn't close so early at 4pm. It's not terribly conducive for the nine to fivers. read more

I love this place so much that I went twice! The first time was a first Thursday of the month. I took my 6 year old to tour the recycling center. Not only did he learn about trash and how it gets sorted, we got a tour of the facility. We came back for Earth day. On Earth day, they gave out free lunch (tamales or empanadas but you have to register with them. There was a petting zoo and multiply activities to do (make paper from recycle paper), make a birds nest with a tissue roll. read more

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I've made several trips here. People are helpful and the price is reasonable. Thanks.

I came here for the free recycle day event. It was pretty interesting to see how all our waste (recycling, trash, and compost) gets sorted. I also learned about items that can and cannot be recycled. Overall, this event was very well organized. Too bad not more community members attended this event. read more

This place is okay for recycling cans. Probably slightly more efficient than those guys who run a recycling center as a single person as the lines there are usually longer. Pulled up the the area for recycle and waited until someone told me what to do. Then was told to pull up another 10 ft to the recycling area. The guy who told me to pull up was at the paint recycling and battery recycling area so I needed to wait for another person. The good news is now I know where to bring batteries and paint to recycle. Person in that line also had to wait a couple minutes as there is no one there to save her on. Also it is more like self service, 70 yr old lady unloaded all her own recycling, some paint and other household stuff. Now the guy comes out for the cans and tells me to place my items in the blue bins. I drop it off, it gets weighed and I get my money. The main difference here from say some of the other really bulk recycling I've been to is you need to load it into the trash cans yourself. The guys will just weigh it for you. In union city those guys took everything out of the car for me and placed my containers back. Tl:dr, good place to bring recycle but it is semi self serve read more

Shoreway Environmental Center - Beer funds - Recycling Center Near Me - San Carlos, California

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Great for your recycling needs, but as of this writing, they are no longer accepting CRV buy-backs.

Here's the problem with this facility. No internal communication between departments. I dump construction wastes there frequently. Sometimes I have personal residential items to get rid of but because I'm in a commercial vehicle the guys in Recyling tells me that I can't dump my items. The guys at the Transfer Station tells me that I have to separate the electronic stuff before dumping the wood, metal etc. I called to complain to office personnel and they tell me that I can recycle the items as a resident even though I'm in a commercial vehicle. Three different answers to the same question? It's frustrating to have deal with companies like this where nobody is in charge. God! I wish they come together and write up some rules so everybody is on the same page. read more

Relatively convenient place to drop off all sorts of waste, including old electronics, appliances, paint, cardboard, metal, etc. I haven't yet had a super long wait experience like some other reviewers, but maybe I just go at some random / odd times, not sure. read more

Shoreway Environmental Center - Recycling Center Near Me - San Carlos, California

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The center is comprised of a Transfer Station and Public Recycling Center. I dropped off a mattress and box springs at the Transfer Station on a Sunday afternoon with no wait and no fees. Saturday was much busier with 20+ vehicles waiting to drop off items. Bottom line: Would definitely come back here to ensure my household items are recycled / disposed of properly. read more

Shoreway Environmental Center - Rates effective as of Jan 1 2017 - Recycling Center Near Me - San Carlos, California

I went here to recycle all my moving boxes. It was easy to get to and there was a clear sign which way to go for recycling. The bins are large and you just pull up right next to them so it's real easy to drop recyclables off. Next time I need to recycle a lot of things, I'll go there. read more

no excuse for the long waits. they would never make it in a drive-through burger business. they seem fully staffed and yet it is over 5 min per car wait ( 45 minutes to drop off some old lumber) this place is poorly run. read more

Shoreway Environmental Center - silly long wait. - Recycling Center Near Me - San Carlos, California

How do you rate a garbage dump... Well, the wait took forever. front the time we turned into their drive, till when we pulled out, it was close to an hour. When we finally got in, the dump area was close to empty. Not sure if they let people trickle in, to discourage people to come here or they don't have enough employees. Also, they charge the same as SSF Scavenger, so don't think, by coming here you'll save. That's why 3 stars. read more

Giving this place a one star so I'm able to give my review. Took a load of dump yesterday afternoon and was mind blown by the price I was given by a simple eyeball, $100! I asked the gentleman how he knew that price if nothing was weighed he simply stated as rudely as he can that, " that's the price". I then began to say, " I'll pass and go to south city as it's weighed there". I don't even think I finished my sentence as he's walking away and says, "take a left here". He didn't care to explain how he got that price nor did he care to hear what I had to say. Which was one sentence. Went to south city, my truck was weighed and I spent $38. HUGE PRICE DIFFERENCE! read more

Parking: No parking lot if you are recycling, just a loading zone. The machines will only take glass and aluminum. You can give any bottles (glass, plastic, and aluminum) for it to be weighted and recycled. I couldn't find any hand sanitizer so definitely should bring some. read more

Was in process of moving out and got bummed out that my apartment manager wouldn't call recology to help us discard old furniture....Thus, we had to rent a truck and toss out the furniture ourselves. Didn't want to be a duche and toss the trash in other peoples dumpster or other stores dumpster. So we drove out to this spot. It's the 1st exit cuz 2nd exit is for employees. Guys at the stop were nice and helpful in explaining the process. Tossed out the beds for free. However we had to pay $48 for a couple of old tables & bed frames. Bummer we have to pay, but still cheaper than paying the hauling companies for $200 just to pickup 2 beds & couple tables in 30 minutes of work. read more

I waited 45 minutes to drop 2 cans of paint. I will just put in the trash!!! Horrible

Easy peezy straight forward dump station. Pull up, pay and dump. Hassle free service. Pricing was fair for our needs at the time.

Easy peasy. Pull in and drop your stuff off. There is usually a helper there. I drop off big pieces of cardboard that won't be picked up at curbside. Electronics too read more

3 stars only because they stopped taking back CRV stuff for cash - otherwise this would be a 4 star place. We came by couple months ago for a recycling / earth day fair. They brought food trucks for free lunch, had a raffle, hosted a pickling class, gave away reusable bags and straws, and provided more info re safe disposal and recycling. Super friendly staff every time! I know that recycling prices have crashed since China stopped taking in our recycling trash so it's not completely their fault but I really hope they can find a way to make it work. We still come by to rid our e-waste, lightbulbs and various small items that we can't put in our trash cans for Recology to take. Location is great by 101 and close to Redwood Shores and there's plenty of space to park - I've never waited too long to dump anything. read more

$35 for a couch!!!!! Really? I had a load that totaled $247. It consisted of household furniture and wares. As a hauler I was shocked at how expensive this place was. Normal transfer stations are usually charging $125 for this type of load without charging $35 for a couch. Ripoff outfit!!! read more

Public tours! Yay!

Most expensive dump in the area BY FAR but the people here are lovely i still use it occasionally

Turned away and refused to accept leftover paint because I brought three cans on two consecutive days. The fact that I was driving a beater work truck rather than an office worker's car prominently figured in their accusation that I was running some sort of paint disposal scam. (Seriously. Over less than 4 gallons of paint) Attendants see their role as rejecting as much as possible, in direct opposition to the purpose of these programs which is to keep toxic and recyclable waste of of the landfill stream. read more

Great customer service. Beautiful facilities that are well managed and maintained. read more

Shoreway Environmental Center - Recycling Center Near Me - San Carlos, California

if you can haul it, they will take it...public recycling is from 8:30 am to 4 pm...cardboard, electronics, paper and beverage containers are free to drop-off (enter and to the left)....fee based disposal is straight ahead...flat fee for tires, refrigerators, mattresses, box springs, washer/dryer, sofas, etc....weighted or cubic yard fee for other debris...fee-based disposal prices can be steep looking at the fees http://www.sbrecycling.net/rates-payment-information/ had a mountain of flattened cardboard the size of a car after moving and unpacking...recology will do free pick-up during regular recycle pick-up days only if cardboard is cut down to 3' x 3' squares and left near the recycle bin...it would be too time consuming to cut down that many boxes...literally loaded the suv to the max and drove it down to shoreway environmental center multiple times...it was easy to dump all the cardboard into the full-size dumpsters clearly labeled for cardboard...go early to avoid the line of cars... read more

Super efficient and affordable for what we needed to do. We quickly were able to unload two old bbqs and get rid of an old tire for $12 (and $12 was just for the tire as they accept metals to recycle for free). Friendly man helped us when we arrived. Where one needs to unload the goods is dirty, but it's basically a dump so you get what you pay for! Note you must unload everything yourself. read more

This review is for the public tour that happens on the 3rd Thursday of every month. I've been wanting to come tour the Shoreway Environmental Center for THE longest time but never really wanted to take a day off for it (the public tours only happen on Thursdays). Can you imagine my excitement when I realized that my 30th birthday fell on the 3rd Thursday of March??! I was debating whether or not to take the day off and when I remembered the tour, it was an easy "Yes". I booked their earliest tour at 9:30am and my parents and grandpa ended up coming with me as well. The tour ended up being SO MUCH FUN!!! We started off in the recycling center where you get an introduction and then hear and read some facts about recycling. Then they actually walk you around the machines! It was so interesting to see how everything is sorted and I had no idea that people had to manually help sort as well! A lot of it is automated but there's still some things that fall through the cracks which requires someone to hand sort. Ex: a crushed water bottle that falls into the trash pile or plastic bags that fall into the recycling pile, etc. It gets pretty loud around the machines, so they give everyone headphones to be able to hear the guide. Only thing about this part of the tour is that small children and those in a wheelchair can't walk around. My grandpa was in a wheelchair so my dad had to sit back with him. Then, they had a Q&A session where the audience could ask questions about what they saw and really, anything about the recycling, trash, and compost procedures. After touring the recycling center, they take you to the compost area where you see the HUGEST compost pile! Did you know that residents can go and ask for compost? I think you can get it twice a year or something like that. I had no idea. I also had no idea that compost got so hot but you could literally see steam rising from the top of the pile. Overall, it was a great tour and the guides were very nice and knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend it! It was so fun and interesting to see the recycling process and compost pile. I also learned a lot and realized that you could recycle a lot of things such as cooking and auto oil! Makes me happy =). It was a great start to my 30s. read more

Residents of San Mateo county can get free compost here. I read somewhere adding this stuff to your garden in the springtime makes for a bountiful harvest. They provide the giant paper bags for the compost but you do have to shovel it yourself. Bring a friend as it is much easier to have one person hold the bag while the other person scoops. Also the bag can get heavy so you will need a hand to lift it into the trunk of your car. It might be a good idea to have some old cardboard or trash bags to line your trunk as the compost bits leaks out from the bottom and the paper bag gets damp. Ladies, don't come in open toe girly shoes or after getting your nails done. read more

Great service.. Came here to drop off some old computer parts today As soon as I got there one of the friendly workers helped direct me to the correct drop off location. I was in and out in 5 minutes, all for free. I definitely be back when I need to drop off my other old computers or tv. read more

Terrible service. Workers had no interpersonal skills. They just stood around watching. We had an entire truckbed full of mostly plastic bottles. Probably over 3 or 4 hundred of them. We got 15 dollars for everything. They completely ripped us off. Don't go to these thieves. read more

My 8 year old daughter and I did the public tour yesterday - it was super interesting! We loved walking through the various sorting stations. It's a must for everyone to experience, especially if you want to know more about what and how things are recycled. Heather and her colleague were friendly and well informed. All in all a very smooth and professional service! read more

This review is for the transfer station. The people who work there are amazing. They made it so quick and easy for us to recycle our old mattress. Keep up the great work. read more

Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before they close. They don't stay open until the closing time stated on their website.

I couldn't use the machine because my cans were "crushed" but an attendant came out and took the cans from me, then waved me forward to the cashier. NO WAITING! After experiencing the terror of waiting in line for RePlanet many times (or driving away because people in line had like 15 bags each) this was a refreshing and welcome experience. I know where I will be taking my recycling from now on. read more

Try to make a living and come here it's not easy. It's a very expensive place to go but you can do some good recycling there. Dose this place have to be that expensive. read more